Bear Bachmeier throws for career-high 351 yards to lead No. 23 BYU past West Virginia, 38-24

By Canadian Press on October 4, 2025.

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Bear Bachmeier threw for a career-high 351 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 23 BYU to a 38-24 victory over West Virginia on Friday night.

BYU (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) rolled up 517 total yards and had two takeaways. Chase Roberts had a career-high 161 yards on four catches, and Parker Kingston added a career-high 111 yards and a touchdown on four receptions.

Khalil Wilkins totaled 170 yards on offense and had two interceptions in his first career start. West Virginia (2-4, 0-3) forced three turnovers but also got burned repeatedly by big plays from BYU.

Kingston scored on back-to-back first-quarter drives to put BYU up 14-0. Therrian Alexander III jumped a route near midfield and returned an interception 49 yards to set up Kingston’s first TD on a 1-yard run. Kingston followed up by reeling in a short pass, weaving through traffic, and sprinting 54 yards for his second touchdown.

Roberts raced downfield on an 85-yard catch-and-run late in the second quarter, setting up L.J. Martin’s 4-yard TD run that extended BYU’s lead to 21-3.

West Virgina threatened briefly after Fred Perry recovered a fumbled pitch to set the stage for a 3-yard TD run from Diore Hubbard. Bachmeier answered with a 2-yard run 19 seconds before halftime to keep the Mountaineers from drawing closer.

The takeaway

West Virginia: The Mountaineers finished plus-one in the turnover margin, but still couldn’t slow down BYU’s offense.

BYU: The Cougars should move up in the AP poll after finishing with more than 300 passing yards for the first time this season.

Up next

West Virginia: At UCF on Oct 18.

BYU: At Arizona on Oct. 11.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

John Coon, The Associated Press